Paralegal's Guide to Understanding Legal Citation

• Overview

Make legal research more efficient and informative by utilizing next generation tools and proper legal citation.Cases are won based on the briefing, and strong briefing requires citation to legal authority. Lawyers and paralegals need to find case law precedent, interpret precedent to select the strongest possible authorities, and then properly cite to those cases. Mistake at any of these steps may doom a motion, brief, or an entire case. This topic educates lawyers and paralegals on the importance of proper legal research, case selection, and citation, with an emphasis on how to ensure that legal briefs include the best possible presentation of case law authority.

Authors

Agenda

Understanding Court Systems and Court Decisions

• Trial and Appellate Courts

• Stare Decisis

• Published and Unpublished Decisions

Choosing the Best Authority

• How to Find Case Law

• Understanding Case Reporters

• How to Evaluate the Best Case to Cite

Citation Format

• Why Citations Format Matters

• The Bluebook vs. Local Styles

• How to Edit for Citation Format